T: Really, really malty, like a fist of malt. More apple juice, nuts, burnt hazelnut in finish. Almost no alcohol (surprisingly)

M: Very smooth, low carb, long on tongue without much fizz. Pretty palateble, if a bit heavy

O: A good beer, with an interesting phenol mix (namely the apple juice). Certainly unique, although a little bit like a wee heavy. I would buy it again, but might water it down with club soda or layer with an ESB; it really is that heavy!

The beer pours a brownish color with a tan head. The aroma is exactly like most of other beers in this series. I get a ton of booze as well as a big dose of molasses. The flavor is similar. There is a ton of brown sugar/molasses, as well as some chocolate and caramel malt. The alcohol is also very noticeable. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation. While I do like this beer, I really wonder how much longer Schmaltz can keep going with this series because all of the beers are beginning to be very similar - huge, boozy brown ales.

Appearance: Pours a very dark brown that is almost completely black. Moderate bubbles and about two fingers of deep tan head that fades away pretty quick. Lacing is pretty light.

Smell: Dark, fruity, and pretty sweet. Dark malts with big hints of caramel, toffee, and a little chocolate. Lots of dark fruit with hints of fig, plums, raisins, dark cherry, and grape. Some cherry licorice. Big sweetness coming from molasses, brown sugar, and maple syrup. Quite a bit of alcohol which is expected at 15%. Hops are fairly subtle compared to the huge malt presence.

Taste: Big, rich, and sweet as expected, but smoother and not as cloying as I thought it might be. Rich dark malts with notes of caramel, toffee, and chocolate. Big mix of dark fruits with notes of plums, figs, raisins, dark grapes and cherry. Some noticeable licorice taste that is more cherry than black. Quite a bit of molasses, burnt brown sugar, and syrup. Some taste of booze. Quite complex and tasty.

Mouthfeel: Big full body with a fairly low level of carbonation. Robust, syrupy, and creamy. Some alcohol heat is felt as you would expect but this goes down smoother than expected.

Overall: This works pretty well. This has at least a few months of age on it and I think that helped smooth it out. The syrupy sweetness and booze taste is definitely there but it doesn't overwhelm the other flavors. Very nice dark fruit flavor here. This is kind of like an amped up Dubbel. As smooth and balanced as a 15% beer can be.

22oz bottle. Well, Hanukkah starts today, or so says my multicultural, realtor-sponsored calendar, and this Golem of a beer just seems like a spiffy accompaniment, poured into my Jewbelation glass from last year's vertical gift pack.

This beer appears a solid brown abyss, until you check the edges, and find some relatively bright cola-hued inroads. It gives up two fingers of foamy, frothy mocha head, which settles at a leisurely pace, eventually exposing a sloppy paint job coating of shoreline lace around the glass.

It smells of warm brown sugar, molasses, caramel/toffee, mild oily leather, some chocolaty cereal grain, and citrusy, leafy hops. Any booze is not surprisingly sly - I've seen this trick before, in this very offering's predecessors.

Jumping into this headfirst, the initial gulp explodes my mind, and blurs any attempt at dissection. Upon picking up the pieces, and going back in for a more tempered, and now somewhat acclimatized sup, I get some big, big (big) dark chocolate, earthy molasses, sauced black fruit, taffy, mildly toasted grain, subtle citrus cream, and bitter leafy, almost herbal, hops, which weirdly, and admirably, suppress a weakly rising alcohol warming.

Somewhere in there, I suppose there's a nod to some seriously oppressed bubbles, but that's really just a minor concern to the here and now. The body is one big ball of smooth, heavy, unctuous, and syrupy, well, potential, one that steadies the pace to thankful degree. It feels like something has got to give (up or out), and the finish kind of disappoints in that matter, as it more or less just hums with further anticipation - sweet and malty, you bet your ass - but also more assertively hoppy and simmeringly warm than anything up to this point in the game.

They've sure and well done it again, another proverbial notch in He'brew's belt. An insane numbers-based beer that would easily moisten the average accountant's pants, with the less than common bonus caveat of stellar big boy beer goodness. It kind of seems like a disservice to describe this beast as drinkable, if not quite totally balanced, but lo and behold, it just seems that way. And crazily so, eight nights' worth, even!

T - Much the same as the nose but it's also woody with a touch of vanilla and cocoa. Maple comes to mind as pretty dominant as well. This beer is also SWEET. Too much so for my palate after about 8-10oz. Many complexities going on in here once you get past the sweetness factor.

M - Syrupy and very sugary. At the same time some might say thin for 15%ABV but that's what made the mouthfeel impressive for me. Perfect light carbonation for a beer so big.

O - More bittering to balance out the sweetness would be my improvement on this beer. It just gets too sugary after 8-10oz. To each their own though. Some prefer what I'm complaining about and I respect that. Not a bad beer by any means but not one I'll be revisiting again. Excellent desert beer if sharing 22oz with one or two others.

Pours a very dark black with a thin lacing of cappuccino head that has good retention. The nose dark fruit, chocolate malt, and woody, earthy tones. The nose is so complex it's hard to identify all of the aromas. The flavor is chocolate, caramel, barley, pine, dark fruit, rich, sweet, sugary, cherries, oak, wood, maple...oh the list goes on. This is so complex. This is a full bodied, well carbonated, rich, smooth beer.

I'm so impressed that out of 15 malts and 15 hops would come something so balanced and so rich and smooth. I can't say enough about it, it's so delicious. At 15% though this could be a very dangerous beer.

A - Poured into a Duvel tulip. About one finger of tan head that quickly dissipated. Very dark.

S - Sweet smell of malt dominates with a presence of hops. Alcohol smell is not too dominant considering this is a 15% beer.

T - Sweet taste. Not quite a sugar bomb but the malty sweetness definitely dominates. Presence of hops is easily noticeable, but is second to the sweetness. Considering the bottle said it was brewed with 15 different hops, I was expecting a hoppier taste. Alcohol is covered up well and not overpowering considering the 15%.

M - It is a pretty thick beer. Goes down smooth. Carbonation is fairly low, but I think the carb level goes well with this beer.

O - This is a bit too sweet for my taste. It is a good beer but a few years could do it some good. Alcohol is not to obvious considering the percent, but a little age would help meld all of the flavors together. Pretty good beer.

Poured from a 22 oz bottle into a tulip- pours a dark, murky brown color with 1.5 fingers of mocha head. Has good retention, very nice lacing.

Nose is thick and boozy- definitely some maple, clove, anise, chocolate and a hint of pine.

Taste is also very thick but maybe not quite as boozy as would be expected. Sticky sweet maple up front, mid palate has some spice, anise, clove, smoothes out into chocolate and a little bit of maple. Finishes very sweet.

Mouthfeel is ok- very full bodied, moderate carbonation, very syrupy. This is an interesting beer but it is certainly a sipper. Could not drink it faster if I wanted to. I wouldn't get it again but I thought, "It's got at least 30 distinct ingredients and it's 15% ABV; I might as well". You might as well try it.

For my 600th official review I decided to go with the biggest brew in terms of ABV that I've tried to date. Here's to Beer Advocate and all the advocates out there, CHEERS!A - solid brown/black, one finger of mocha head held its own, very impressed at that given the ABV, settled a a thin voceringS - a chocolate raisin aroma, other dark fruits, sweet molasses, cherry, an enticing and complex mixT - like the nose starts with chocolate and dark fruits, a definite roasty malt quality comes through, hints of tropical citrus hops, brown sugar, molasses, grapes, there is just so much going on here, the end result is a great tasting big brewM - big body, creamy smooth, you would NEVER guess anything close to 15% ABV, sticky sweetness lingers on the finish coating the mouth, innards fully warmedO - RIDICULOUS

A- Dark, transparent along the edges. Not quite black like a stout, but plenty dark. Very thick looking. Nice carbonation the dissipates slowly into beautiful caramel colored swirls that linger throughout the drinking.

S- BOOM! Smells big, boozy, and malty.

T- The first thing that came to mind was bells batch 9000. It is super malty with the taste of black licorice, not overpowering, but incredibly pleasant. where is the alcohol? for 15%, I can't taste it. The etoh smell is there, but this beer is velvety smooth. There is a mild, crisp bitterness that reigns in the malt towards the end. Completely opened up as it warmed. this was my first shmaltz brew, and it blew my mind.

M- viscous. this was a winter beer. very smooth feel. the flavor up-front lingers in the mouth for days, and it is very welcome. the feel left nothing to desire. it was all there, and scratched every itch.